Alexander Ovechkin

The following is a rant broken into mini bits of thoughts poorly strung together. It's going to cover a whole lot of bleepin' (this is how I'm going to curse because I'm in the mood (I'm always in the mood) for a good curse) subjects. If you come to something you don't like, skip down some. Or just bail on it. I ain't mad at ya.

(I'm a little rude to Canada later. It's nothing against you personally, Canada. All the Canadians I know are lovely people, I just got my feelings hurt.)

The Washington Capitals are going down the left coast this week and the games are late, so I'm probably not going to watch.

Tonight is the first preseason game in D.C. for the Capitals. Their preseason roster is playing the preseason roster of the Chicago Blackhawks, the champs themselves. If Washington Redskins fans can tell you anything about preseason results, it’s that preseason game results are beyond all of lies, damn lies and statistics. Don’t stress the score. This is still part of the buildup to a real season of hockey and the score is not important. What’s important is that there is hockey in D.C. again. This I know. (There will be an outdoors game in D.C. in 2015 too. The temperature during the week will undoubtedly hover around 45 degrees and the game will be pla...

The New York Islanders have officially removed Rick DiPietro's name from their roster after using one of their two compliance buyouts on the former number one goaltender yesterday. The buyout will pay him $1.5 million over the next 16 seasons and makes him an unrestricted free agent in search of a new NHL home (Photo credit: xjowell/Flickr).

DiPietro was drafted by Mike Milbury with the 1st overall pick 13 years ago, making history in the NHL as he was the first goaltender to ever be selected first overall. He immediately began his career with the Islanders before seeing some time with the Isles AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

For the first time in a long time, an Islanders skater has been nominated for the NHL's Hart Memorial Trophy, which is annually awarded to the league's most valuable player (Photo credit: theseoduke/Flickr).

Tavares joins Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin. Crosby missed the last 12 games of the regular season after suffering a broken jaw, ironically during a game against the New York Islanders. However, he still managed to finish fourth in the league with 56 points.

Ovechkin surprisingly started off the year incredibly slow, but then took fire towards the end of the season, ending 2013 third in the league in points. He is cited as the main reason for why the Capitals were able to clinch their division just before the start of the playoffs.

The New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals took the ice on Thursday night in Washington D.C. for their third and final meeting of the 2012 - 2013 season. With the Islanders being victorious in the first two matchups, the red-hot Caps would take this one in a 2-1 shootout.

After the Capitals scored at the end of the first period, it wouldn't be until the end of the third when Kyle Okposo tied the game 1-1. After an incredible showcase by goaltenders Evgeni Nabakov and Braden Holtby, Alexander Ovechkin would notch the lone shootout tally to send the Isles off with only a point. (Photo Credit: clydeorama/Flickr)

Say goodbye to some of the longest-standing rivalries in the game, and say hello to some of the most manufactured rivalries in the game. The NHL, NHLPA and NHL Board of Governors approved the new realignment to be put into service starting next year, lasting a minimum of three seasons.

The new plan is contingent on some ridiculous rotation because of lopsided divisions of eight teams in the east, and seven teams in the west. Thanks to the strange geographical landscape that the NHL has employed, teams have had to be at the mercy of some wide open swaths of the United States and Canada that are uninhabited by NHL clubs.

Alexander Ovechkin scored a hat trick and added an assist while Braden Holtby stopped 21 of 22 shots as the Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1.

It was less than 48 hours ago that Troy Brouwer swung his stick in disgust after the Caps gave up two goals and in the third period that started with a 2-1 Caps lead.

Brouwer would net the game's final goal off of an Ovechkin helper in the closing minutes of the third period.

The third period that the Caps played today was as good a period as the Capitals could have hoped for: they stayed out of the box (save a delay of game penalty, the 10th delay penalty in 17 games), outshot the...